Weasels in Odessa Texas?

[okrattler]

My buddy works down there and he text me one day and told me he sees these small,fast animals all the time running across the road. By the time he gets up there they're gone. Somebody told him they're weasels. Are they jacking with him or are there really weasels in Odessa\Midland area? I've never been there so I don't know what animals he's talking about but my first thought was probably grey foxes.

[bigmike]

Those are ground squirrels
The only weasels in Odessa have two legs

[okrattler]

Those are ground squirrels
The only weasels in Odessa have two legs

Is there quite a few of them? He acts like he sees them frequently.

Ground squirrels I mean.

[150class]

Is there quite a few of them? He acts like he sees them frequently.

They are everywhere in south and west texas

[westtexducks]

Yep ground squirrels. Millions of then out here. Make funny little noise to when they are running. Will see if I can find a video or pic of one.

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[westtexducks]

Found a video of one.

https://youtu.be/VatFZe-eSX8

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[okrattler]

He had me so confused when he kept telling me about these weasels he sees. At first I thought ok maybe he knows what he's seeing but I had never heard of a weasel in Texas. Then I thought maybe they were ringtailed cats but I didn't think those were just running around everywhere either though. And they're not that common to see during the day I don't think. Ground squirrels makes sense.

[okrattler]

I've seen 13 lined ground squirrels around here. I guess they kinda have a long body like a weasel. I work with a guy from way up in Kansas and he said they had weasels up there. I've never seen one before.

[boh347]

Yup ground squirrels. They’re heck on sprinkler systems.

[Phillip Fields]

From Wildlife Texas Almanac:

Weasel — The long-tailed weasel (Mustela frenata), akin to the mink, is found statewide, but is scarce in West Texas and the far north Panhandle. In general, their destruction of mice, ground squirrels, and pocket gophers benefits agriculture. But on occasion they enter poultry houses and wantonly kill chickens.

[Das71198]

I was in Lubbock about a month ago & a vacant field by our hotel was full of prairie dogs. The kids thought that they we cool & I wanted to have some target practice.

[Big Lee]

Yup ground squirrels. They’re heck on sprinkler systems.

No joke!!!

[brokeno]

We definately saw a drunk one in Washington today

[RifleBowPistol]

They are ground squirrels, and yes, they are very fast. I used to try and shoot them with 22s as a kid. 100% of the time they would out run the bullet, before it got there. I got to where I aimed at their hole, that I knew the were going to go down and they would still get down the hole before the bullet got there. I was shooting at them from about 100 to 150 yards, they would not let me get any closer.

The are kind of a tan color, with darker colored stripes and spots between the stripes, if I remember correctly.

[double bogey]

When we moved to Mesquite in 1961 (i was 5 yrs old), we had ground squirrels in the neighborhood. The neighborhood was brand new, and within a year or so they were gone. None were seen in the surrounding countryside, as my brother, me , and a couple of friends scoured this area with bb and pellet rifles, and never saw any in the close by country. It was kinda neat, our street was the last road for almost a mile, then another mile to the next one. Like being in the country, almost.